This invention relates to an air handling system and in particular to a hinge assembly for use in an air handling system.
In one type of modular air handling system manufactured by Carrier Corporation of Syracuse, N.Y., each modular section includes a pair of rectangular end frames that are cojoined at the corners by elongated beams to create a three dimensional framework. The side openings of the framework are closed by panels made of sheet metal and cored with a foam material having a higher value. Access door panels are placed in some of the modular sections to provide easy access to equipment that is housed within the particular section. Heretofore, the doors were attached to the framework using living hinges. Although this living hinge arrangement works well in practice, assembling the hinge is rather difficult and time consuming. In addition, if the hinge becomes damaged, the entire door often times must be replaced which can prove to be costly. Efforts to replace the living hinge with a more conventional metal hinge have meet with limited success due to the fact that the hinge cannot be effectively fastened to the sheet metal of a panel door.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to improve modular air handling systems having modular sections.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved hinge assembly for mounting an access door to the framework of a modular section of an air handling system.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a high strength door hinge assembly which can be easily installed in an air handling system within a short period of time.
Another object of the invention is to provide a high strength hinge assembly that can be secured to a sheet metal access door without damaging the door.
These and other objects of the present invention are attained by a hinge assembly for rotatably supporting a sheet metal door in the framework of a modular section of an air handling system. The modular section contains a square tubular support column that has a rectangular shaped hole passing through one outer wall of the column. The hinge assembly includes a pair of spaced apart mounting flanges that are connected by an arm. The arm is rotatably coupled to a first mounting flange by a hinge pin and integrally joined to the second mounting flange. A locating frame is located upon the bottom surface of the first mounting flange which can be received within the hole in the column to locate the hinge assembly in an operative or home position wherein the second mounting flange is located over the outer surface of the door. A guide post is supported in the locating frame that extends downwardly from the frame and a clamp is slidably contained upon the guide pin. A threaded member passes through the locating frame and is arranged to engage the clamp. The clamp has a shape that complements that of the hole in the column such that the clamp can be passed through the hole and turned 90xc2x0 to align the locating frame with the hole. The threaded member is used to draw the clamp into locking engagement against the inside wall of the column wall thus registering the locating frame within the hole. The second mounting flange is secured to the face panel of the door using a pair of screws that are arranged to engage AVK type nuts mounted inside the door behind its front panel.